Shoe rack



L. T. HILL .5 July--16, 1929. Q

SHOE RACK Filed Nov. 23, 1926 Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.)

LAWSON 'r. HILL, or wns'ron, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR'TO UNITED SHOE m1. CHINEBY CORPORATION, OF IATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A'CORPORATION on NEW JERSEY.

SHOE RACK. 2

Application filed November 23, 1926. Serial No. 150,343.

This invention relates to shoe racks such as are used to support shoes between various operations performed upon the shoes and to carry them from one part of a factory to another.

Recently, there have come into use in shoe factories racks of the type exemplified by the rack construction illustrated in United States Letters Patent No. 1,556,425, granted October 6, 1925, upon an application filed in the name of E. Coombes, et a1. Racks of this type commonly comprise a plurality of relatively flat shoe-supporting members, commonly called pins or paddles, supported at an inclination to the horizontal and arranged for supporting shoes carried in the racks bottom side up, a toe rest positioned transversely of the upper surfaces ofthe pins being provided for supporting the foreparts of the shoes.

Racks of the type referred to have been used extensively and successfully. In the use of such racks, as heretofore constructed, there is liability of injury to shoes being caused by loose lasting tacks lodging upon the shoe-supporting surfaces of. the rack. The accu1nulation of tacks on the shoe-supporting mem bers of the racks is especially likely'to happen during the tack-pulling operation at which time it is almost impossible to prevent some tacks from falling upon, the exposed shoesupporting surfaces of the rack. These loose tacks are liable to drop upon the pins between the shoes carried on them and, because of the inclination of the pins to the horizontal, slide towards the back of the rack and tend to accumulate along theforward edge of the toe rest which stops their rearward. movement. Unless such. tacks are removed from the proximity to the shoe-supporting portions of the pins, they are apt to injure the shoes by contacting with the uppers of the shoes as the shoes are placed in the rack. There is also the likelihood of injury to the shoes during movements of the rack from one place to another due to the consequent jostling of the shoes.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to eliminate the liability of injury to shoes due to loose tacks while the shoes are carried in shoe racks'of the type referred to. Accordingly, the present invention provides an improved shoe rack of the type referred to and having shoesupporting members and a toe rest so constructed and arranged as to prevent the accumulation of tacks on the shoe-supporting surfaces of the rack. i

To this end. and as shown, the illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a rack of the above-mentioned type which'rack is provided with a toe rest raised above the surfaces of the shoe-supporting members by means of dowels to provide an opening so arranged that tacks which drop upon the pins can pass under the toe rest to the back of the rack out of position for causing injury to the shoes. It should be understood, however. that the invention is not limited inits use fulness toembodiment in racks like theillustrated rack. V v

These and other features" of the invention will-be best understood from-the following description of a preferred embodimentof the invention taken, in connection with the accompanying drawings,in which Fig. 1 is a view showing the rack constructionaccording to one embodiment of the invention; I L

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view from the front of the rack looking parallel to the surfaces of thejpins; a i a Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-section through the rack; and Q i I Fig. 4 is a detailview of a portion of the toe rest. v p p As shown in Fig. 1, the illustrated rack comprises a frame 10 formed of channel sections and adapted to support one or more shelves, one of which is shown at 12. The shelf 12 comprises two end pieces 14, a crossbarl6, and a backrail 18; Supportedupon the crossbar 16 and secured in a groove in the back rail 18 are a plurality of fiat shoesupporting paddles or pins 20. 1 These pins are constructed and arranged to support shoes bottom side up, the tops of the shoes projecting downwardly between the pins and the pins being inclined upwardly towardthe front of the rack, as shown in Fig. 3, in order to prevent the shoes from sliding off as the rack is moved from place to place.

For further positioning shoes, a toe rest 22 is provided, comprising a narrow strip of wood, the ends of which terminate in tenons 24 (Figs. 1 and 1) adapted for insertion in slots 26, in the end pieces 14:, which serveto locate the toe rest in theproper position upon the upper surfaces of the pins 20 for position ing and supporting the foreparts of shoes'can ried in the rack bottom side up. The end pieces 14 are provided with additional slots 28 in which the toe rest can be inserted to position it outwardly of the pins, in which position it acts as a heel stop for shoes carried in the rack in right side up position.

Means is provided for supporting the toe rest 22 in raised position above the surface of the pins 20, when shoes are carried bottom side up in the rack, so that tacks which would otherwise collect in front of the toe rest may pass to the back of the rack out of posit-ion for causing injury to shoes. To this end, dowels 30 are inserted in the under side of the toe rest 22. When the toe rest 22 is located in slots 26, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, the dowels 30 are of sufficient height to support the toe rest substantially above the surface of the pins so as to provide openings for the passage of tacks underneath the rest but are not of suflicient height so as to interfere with the proper positioning of the foreparts of shoes upon the toe rest.

The dowels are arranged in staggered relation (Figs. 3 and 4) along the toe rest in such manner as to provide a firm support for the toe rest, thus eliminating the tendency of the toe rest to rock upon the dowels in the event that the tenons 2st become worn sufiiciently so that they fit loosely in the slots 26.

In the use of the rack the toe rest 22 is placed in the slots 26 and the shoes are positioned bottom side up upon the pins and toe rest in the usual manner between the various shoemaking operations up to the time the lasts are pulled. It will be apparent that any tacks which fall upon the pins, due to the fact that the pins are inclined'to the horizontal, will slide along the pins under the toe rest to the back of the rack where they will be out of position to cause injury to the shoes. After the lasts are removed from the shoes the latter are usually placed in upright position upon the pins at which time the toe rest 22 is positioned in the forward slots 28 with the-dowels 30 located in spaces between the pins so that the toe rest lies flat upon the pins, in position to act as a heel stop for the shoes which are in no further danger from loose tacks.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a shoe rack a plurality of shoe-supporting members and a positoning member extending in proximity to and across the shoesupporting members and having a portion thereof spaced from portions of the shoesupporting members to provide an opening between the positioning member and the supporting members for the passage of tacks between the positioning member and the shoesupporting members.

2. In a shoe rack a plurality of members for supporting the heel ends of shoes carried in the rack in inverted position, and a positioning member extending across the supporting members for engaging the foreparts of the shoes and having a portion thereof spaced from portions of the supporting members to provide an opening for the passage of tacks between the positioning member and the supporting members.

3. In a shoe rack, a frame, a plurality of shoe-supporting members mounted in the frame and extending at an angle to the horizontal, and a positioning member extending across the upper surfaces of the shoesupporting members and so spaced therefrom as to permit the passage of loose tacks along the upper surfaces of the supporting members and under the positioning member.

at. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-supporting members, a toe rest extending transversely of said members, means for supporting the toe rest above the surfaces of the supporting members to provide an opening for the passage of loose tacks under the toe rest in a direction away from the supportingsurfaces of the shoe-supporting members.

5. A shoe rack construction comprising a frame, a shelf supported in the frame and comprising a plurality of relatively flat pins or paddles for supporting the heel ends of shoes,said pins being inclined upwardly toward the front of the rack, a toe rest extending across the shoe-supporting surfaces of the pins for supporting the foreparts of the shoes, and means for supporting said toe rest above the surfaces of the pins to form an opening for the passage of tacks from portions of the pins in front of the toe rest.

6. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-supporting pins, a toe rest extending along the upper surfaces of the pins, and a plurality of spacing members positioned be tween the toe rest and the pins for supporting the toe rest above the surfaces of the pins.

7. A shoe rack comprising a plurality of shoe-supporting pins, a toe rest extending along the upper surfaces of the pins, and a plurality of spacing members positioned in staggered relation between the toe rest and the pins for supporting the toe rest above the surfaces of the pins.

8. A shoe rack shelf comprising end pieces connected by a longitudinally extending member, a plurality of pins supported by the longitudinally extending member, a movable toe rest constructed and arranged for insertion in either of two pairs of slots formed in the end pieces, and means for spacing the toe rest from the upper surfaces of the pins when the toe rest is positioned in one of the pairs of slots.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LAWVSON T. HILL. 

